This invention relates to the art of tray type containers commonly constructed of corrugated paperboard suitable for produce such as cauliflower and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a container tray having a reinforced corner construction wherein a multiple of such trays may be loaded with produce, stacked in sizeable number and thereupon be transported and stored as necessary in handling the product while protecting it incident such transportation, storage, etc.
Rectangular trays folded from suitably cut and scored paperboard blanks have gained wide acceptance in the packaging industry for handling and merchandising a wide variety of products. Trays of this type incorporating various reinforced corner constructions have been proposed as being better able to withstand high stacking loads during storage, shipping and other handling of goods contained within a number of stacked trays.
While several such paperboard tray constructions with reinforced corners are known and employed commercially, the folded tray construction embodied in the instant invention is believed to offer greater load carrying capability in multiple stacking environments. The invention offers a highly simple and efficient form such that lighter weight and thus more economical paperboard can be employed to gain the same tray strength in the corner construction as the tray constructions heretofore known in the industry.
Prior art solutions to the problems of providing a produce tray that may be easily assembled at the field site from a paperboard blank into a strong tray which can be stacked in multiples with the produce contained therein have been overly complex or required unduly heavy and expensive paperboard to achieve the requisite tray strength.